Longing
by Angelic Prophecy
Summary: ...their encounter in Rome had unlocked in him a longing he never imagined he could feel. One-Shot


**The quote in the summary is from the DaVinci Code, chapter six.**

**Hmm, I'm not sure about this – my first attempt at an Angels & Demons fic. I don't know how good this is, and it was written late at night, so there may be mistakes in it. I hope it's not too bad, and thanks for reading!**

**By the way, Angels & Demons and the DaVinci Code are property of Dan Brown. I just have a copy of the books.**

A slight October breeze stirred the curtains as Robert Langdon awoke with a start from his dreams. Dazed, he looked around his spacious bedroom, staring at the moon outside the window on the wall opposite him. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning.

A quiet sigh escaped the man's lips as he reflected on what had awoken him. The dream. He'd had it, again and again, for the past few months, each time waking in the middle of the night, the same dull ache attacking his senses.

Langdon tried not to dwell on his personal past. Rather, he immersed himself in the past of the rest of the world, trying to leave behind his own, though some key points were difficult to overcome. Some things he didn't want to forget. But most of his memories were quietly laid aside, and he never made much of them after the fact. After all, he had his present to be concerned with – his personal past was not important now.

One such thing he'd been attempting to forget for a while now was the very subject of this recurring dream – he didn't think it classified as a nightmare, as it wasn't frightening. Quite simply, it simply revealed emotions that he had a difficult time placing.

The dream was always exactly the same. It was April again, and he was at Hotel Bernini, standing on the balcony, staring out at the Roman sky. And there was a presence behind him. He turned, and there she would always be standing. Vittoria Vetra, in all her grace and beauty, stood behind him, watching him, her deep, dark eyes imploring, ever curious. He wanted to go to her, and he would approach her. But just as he was leaning in to touch his lips to hers, to taste her kiss, she smiled at him sadly and faded away to nothing.

It'd been half a year since he had last seen her – they had remained in Rome for a few days together, trying to absorb everything that had happened, discussing it, and simply enjoying each other's company for a moment. And Robert missed her.

He missed her still, as he looked out over the trees, whose leaves were fading away to the oranges and yellows of fall here in Cambridge. He sensed that sleep would elude him entirely that need, so he got out of bed and moved down his stairs to the main room of his home, looking out the bay window just as he had that fateful night six months earlier – the night that had changed his life forever.

Langdon sat back in a chair, thinking of her again. He could still taste her kiss on his lips, feel her touch, smell her gentle scent, hear her beautiful voice speaking his name. Before their encounter in Rome, he had never been too interested in a real relationship with a woman. He'd enjoyed being alone, savouring the freedom of bachelorhood.

But now there were unfamiliar feelings, things he was unaccustomed to. His heart seemed to ache for more, and he carried a deep longing inside him. The longing to hold someone in his arms, to love and be loved in return. He'd never felt this before, and it bothered him.

He had last spoken to Vittoria Vetra in Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome, half a year before. The memory rushed back like flood waters…

"_I'll miss you, Robert."_

_Vittoria held a suitcase in one hand, and the other was on his cheek, a gentle smile playing on her face. The pair hardly seemed to notice the noise and bustled of the terminal around them – they were lost in their final moments with each other. The goodbye was already painful._

"_I'll miss you too."_

_The words were spoken in earnest. Vittoria's sable eyes searched his, seeming to speak to him in a way he'd never experienced before._

"_We'll keep in contact, I hope." She spoke softly, her throaty voice full of hope and promise. "We can plan our next meeting."_

_A grin formed on Robert's face at that. They had promised each other to meet somewhere different every six months. They planned to try to keep things the way they were while still going back to their old lives._

"_You can count on it." His hand found her waist, pulling her slender frame towards him. Their lips met in a kiss that had an outpour of emotion – happiness, sadness, regret, guilt, love, passion, apology, and longing. Robert felt wetness on his cheek as they continued to kiss, realizing the woman was crying. He pulled back gently, brushing the tears from her face, and she looked at him, watching him for what seemed the longest moment._

_Finally, they announced his flight, and he gave her a chaste kiss on the lips – one with the sharp bite of finality – before wishing her farewell and exiting the terminal, not knowing he would never see her face again._

It hurt to recall their final meeting. He wished she were here, somehow. He hadn't heard from her in a while, and the uneasiness of it chewed at him. As he sat, gazing out at the Cambridge night, he realized that there was a deep, unhealed longing in his heart. The longing for Vittoria.

Before he could even think or rationalize, he had walked blindly, finding his telephone, his fingers dialing the number she'd given him, the number he'd memorized – he'd done this before. And as always, he stopped at the final digit, unable to make himself push the final number and speak to her again. Somehow he felt – he knew – that speaking to Vittoria would only ease the pain for a while before making it that much worse.

He replaced the phone, setting it back into its cradle and staring at it a moment – wondering if she thought about him as much as he did about her. He wondered if he would ever see her again, if he could hold her, feel her body against his and taste her lips on his.

But these were questions for another night. Tonight, he simply felt the longing.

**Hmm, I don't think this was too awful for my first venture into this fandom – I'd love feedback on it, if you don't mind.**


End file.
